Matt Damon is once again making headlines over a career decision that continues to surprise Hollywood more than a decade later: turning down the lead role in James Cameron’s 2009 science-fiction blockbuster “Avatar.”
During a recent live interview, Damon reflected on what has become one of Hollywood’s most talked-about missed opportunities, recalling his conversation with director James Cameron in 2022, which recently resurfaced on social media.
The One That Got Away
“You’ll never meet an actor who turned down more money than me,” Damon said with a self-deprecating laugh.
Damon famously declined the offer to star in “Avatar,” a decision that cost him not only the role but also a potential windfall of $250 million. At the time, Cameron reportedly offered Damon 10 percent of the film’s box office profits. “Avatar” went on to become the highest-grossing movie of all time, earning more than $2.9 billion worldwide.
Damon explained that he was contractually obligated to finish filming another installment of the “Jason Bourne” series, and walking away would have meant leaving that project unfinished, as it was still in post-production.
“I had a contract,” Damon said. “I was in the middle of shooting the ‘Bourne’ movie and I knew we were going to need work at the end. I had to get it all the way to the finish line, and I would’ve had to leave early and leave them in the lurch. I didn’t want to do that.”
Despite the enormous financial loss, Damon said his decision was rooted in loyalty to his team and respect for the process. “I don’t know how I could have left all my friends in the lurch. You know what I mean?” he said.
Cameron’s “Avatar” ultimately starred Australian actor Sam Worthington, whose relatively unknown status at the time made him a risk for such a large-scale project. But the gamble paid off, and the film’s groundbreaking visual effects and environmental themes resonated with global audiences.
Damon recounted a moment with longtime friend and collaborator John Krasinski, when he first revealed how he passed on “Avatar.”
“I told John Krasinski — we were writing this little movie a long time ago called ‘Promised Land’ — and we were in my kitchen on a Saturday morning during a break, and I tell him about ‘Avatar.’ He launches himself out of the chair,” Damon recalled. “He starts pacing the kitchen and says, ‘Nothing in your life would be different today if you had done that movie —except you and I would be having this conversation in space.’”
The anecdote underscores both the scale of what Damon gave up and how, in hindsight, the decision has become something of a legend in entertainment circles.
James Cameron, who returned to direct 2022’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” laughed off the incident in an interview with the BBC late last year.
“He’s beating himself up over this,” Cameron said. “And I really think, you know, ‘Matt, you’re kind of like one of the biggest movie stars in the world — get over it.’ But he had to do another ‘Bourne’ film, which was on his runway, and there was nothing we could do about that. So he had to regretfully decline.”
Both “Avatar” and its sequel are now available to stream on Disney+, ensuring the franchise’s place in cinematic history — and serving as a reminder of the billion-dollar role that got away.
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